Excerpt from Recollections of What I Saw, What I Lived Through, and What I Learned, During More Than Fifty Years of Social and Literary Experience I must begin with a confidential word to my readers. I have been a hard-working literary woman for more than forty years, but I do not Write these memories because I attach any Significance to my own personality. I have written them for my own pleasure; be cause friends have seemed interested and amused by scraps Which I have told them; because I think some of my contemporaries may like to be reminded of ways of life and thought Which are passing into oblivion because I have witnessed some beginnings which are ripening yet; and because I find the present abounds with those to whom some Of my memories have already a certain antiquarian flavour. I must express my gratitude to the friends through whose instigation and sympathy I have been led to enjoy these pleasures of memory. I also offer my cordial thanks to the other friends who have given me ready furtherance in the matter Of illustrations - viz., to Lord Guthrie, Miss Lydia Nicol, and Mr. Robert Brown. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.